5 tips for creating boundaries between work and personal life

Creating boundaries between work and personal life is not an easy thing. The use of digital technologies means that workers can do their job at any time and from anywhere.

As a result, people will be working even when they are at home or during the weekends. This increases stress, reduces happiness levels, and can create confusion.

Therefore, the only way to be satisfied with your life is to find ways to balance your career and personal life. And since you might say that that is easier said than done, keep reading to find out how to balance work life and personal life.

Create boundaries between work and personal life and increase efficiency

Being a highly motivated workaholic is amazing and many consider that crucial if you want to succeed in your career. But, like everything else in life, if it’s not balanced it might cause damage. Hence, if you can’t set boundaries between work and personal life, you will be unfulfilled with your life and that will even kill your biggest asset – motivation.

That being said, keep reading to find out how to find ways to balance work and personal life by still keep being a hardworking and dedicated professional.

Avoid perfectionism

People can develop perfectionist habits from a young age. They will try to do everything perfectly at school and home. While children and teenagers can easily be perfectionists, it is far more difficult for adults to do the same.

If your perfectionism becomes part of your daily habits, you will not balance your work life. Instead, you will dedicate more of your time towards achieving unrealistic work targets. As a result, your personal life will not receive the attention it deserves.

Avoiding perfectionism means psychologically preparing yourself for low achievements and getting a new perspective. You must be ready to miss your deadlines and not attain your targets.

For example, if you have set to work for eight hours a day, you must stop once that time is up. After dedicating more time to your personal life, your creativity and productivity will improve. Eventually, you will be able to do more work because you will have a clear vision.

Therefore, you must write realistic targets and objectives. How much work can you realistically do in a single day or week? Once you have determined that amount, you will set a minimum target.

For instance, if you do 80% of your daily tasks after eight hours, you can dedicate the rest of the day to personal hobbies and activities.

Have a dedicated workspace

Discipline is a crucial ingredient in creating boundaries between work and personal life. It’s easy to become disciplined if you have a dedicated workspace where you do all your work. This is ideal for remote workers who work from their homes. When you have a dedicated workspace, you will avoid distractions and manage your time better.

You can get a chair and desk that will serve as the workspace. The desk should only accommodate items that are related to your work. A decluttered desk reduces anxiety and increases focus. You will complete more activities if no items are slowing down your progress.

The dedicated workspace can be located in an unused room, a spare bedroom, or even the garage. It should also have enough natural light, but be away from noises.

In addition, you should get an ergonomic chair to reduce fatigue. If you have to stand up regularly to stretch your limbs, you may easily get distracted.

You can also try to have soft music playing in the background. Most people perform better when there is some soft noise in the background. If you have to take your meals, you can go to the dining table.

Set a routine

Remote workers have a difficult time following a specific schedule. Wondering how to be productive while working remotely?

Working from home means that you can do your personal and work activities at the same time. Since you want to create boundaries between work and personal life, you will need to create a routine. The routine will specify working hours and leisure time.

For instance, you may want to watch the latest movie during the day. However, if you have decided to work during the day, you have to postpone the film.

It will be challenging to follow your routine when you first create it. However, as you keep doing the same thing every day, it will become a habit. Eventually, following your routine will be a daily ritual that you won’t have to force yourself to do.

It is a good idea to track the effectiveness of your routine. In the initial days, you may only complete about 30% of your scheduled activities. If you do one more extra activity each new day, you may start following your entire routine after two weeks.

Create some time for yourself

Burnouts are very common among workers. It is essential to set aside some time for yourself and rejuvenate. The purpose is to prevent your life from becoming monotonous and robotic. There should be occasional breaks where you take a vacation, exercise, or engage in a hobby.

Taking breaks frees the mind and nourishes your body. Therefore, you should do things such as meditation or yoga regularly. These activities can happen in the morning, during lunch breaks, or after work. They will increase your creativity and improve overall productivity.

Another way to create personal time is to switch off your work devices on Friday afternoon. Your business phone should be off, and clients should know that they can’t talk to you during the weekend. If you go on vacation, make sure to leave somebody to reply to your emails and phone calls.

Engage in constant communication

One consequence of overlapping work and personal life is reducing communication between yourself, your team, and family members. You have to talk regularly to your family and friends. Connecting with family and friends increases affection, support, and social cohesion.

You will work better if there are other people who support and love you. Consequently, you shouldn’t do any work if it is time to socialize with your friends or family. Your team members or boss must also know that they can’t contact you during this time.

You don’t have to meet your family or friends in person. Instead, you can organize virtual meetings, parties, or coffee dates. It’s also possible to go live on your social media and connect with your friends.

Conclusion

Achieving a work-life balance will increase your productivity and reduce stress. You will be more creative and motivated to do your work each day. That’s why you need a strategic planning process to set boundaries between work and personal life. Use the strategies we’ve listed above and start improving your way of living today.